MATHEMATICS: BEYOND THE TEXTBOOK – January 2016 DCBEAGLE Challenges ~ Douglas Buchanan ~ http://www.dcbeagle.com DCBEAGLE challenges go international As many know I am one of the presentation team at the annual Irish Maths Week, the largest maths festival in the world, each October but now I have been invited to host three challenges in Nairobi in September. A regular entry for my challenges visited Kenya over Christmas and this how this booking came to fruition. The other unique location will be in one of the biospheres of The Eden Project in Cornwall in June. Exciting times ahead! This month’s puzzle Sharing the money Two travellers sat down in the woods to have lunch. One produced five loaves and the other three. Then a stranger came upon the scene and asked permission to eat them. He produced no bread himself, but the three shared the eight loaves equally. The stranger then put down 8 pence in payment of his share. How should the money be fairly distributed between the two travellers? Understanding maths versus explaining answers In a blog on Mr Meyers website (http://blog.mrmeyer.com) two contributors argue that pupils should not have to explain their answers. “I wouldn’t bet that the student with correct but unexplained answers understands nothing, but I wouldn’t make any confident bets on exactly what that student understands either.” To read the article in full click here. Websites of the month Kenken (http://www.kenkenpuzzle.com/game). I was reminded by my friend Andrew Jeffrey about this website where this puzzle was allegedly going to surpass Sudoku in the 1990s and was brought to this country by The Times. The website is very much interactive and easy to use. There is a wide range of levels to cover many age groups (including adults). Printed versions can be found at http://krazydad.com/inkies. Transum - Times Tables This website has a wide range of topics and there is a comprehensive suite of programs for learning multiplication tables - the flavour of the new year! http://transum.com/Tables/Times_Tables.asp DCBEAGLE Challenges This Spring term is my busiest with many weeks having 3 or 4 events. The good news is that most of them run with capacity numbers or waiting lists. Do visit the website for further details and to locate the booking forms: Year 6 Maths St John's Beaumont Monday 8 February 2:00 - 4:00 Year 4 Spell It! Eagle House, Berkshire Tuesday 9 February 2:00 - 3:30 Year 5 Maths Langley Preparatory Norwich Thursday 11 February 1:30 - 3:30 Year 6 Maths Langley Preparatory Norwich Friday 12 February 1:30 - 3:30 Year 5 Maths Belmont (Mill Hill) Tuesday 23 February 2:00 - 4:00 Year 4 Maths Ryde School, IOW Thursday 25 February 10:30 - 12:30 Year 5 Maths Ryde School, IOW Thursday 25 February 1:45 - 3:45 Year 5 Maths Haileybury, Hertford Tuesday 1 March 10:30 - 1:15 Year 5 Maths The Paragon School, Bath Wednesday 2 March 1:30 - 3:30 Year 4 Maths Christ Hospital, Horsham Thursday 3 March 1:30 - 3:30 Year 5 Maths Wrekin College Shropshire Friday 4 March 12:30 - 3:00 Year 4 Maths Gayhurst, Bucks Monday 07 March 2:00 - 4:00 Year 5 Maths Wellington College Tuesday 08 March 2:00 - 4:15 Year 5 Maths Crosfields School, Reading Thursday 10 March 2:00 - 4:00 Year 5 Maths St Gregory’s Catholic Science ColFriday 11 March lege, Harrow 2:00 - 4:00 Year 6 Maths Malvern St James Tuesday 15 March 2:00 - 4:00 Year 6 Maths Mowden Hall, Newcastle Thursday 17 March 1:30 - 3:30 Year 5 Maths Newcastle High for Girls Friday 18 March 1:30 - 3:30 Year 4 Maths Wrekin College, Shropshire Friday 22 April 1:30 - 3:30 Year 4 Maths Aldwickbury, Harpenden Tuesday 26 April 2:15 - 4:00 Year 5 Maths Junior King's, Canterbury 28 April 2015 2:00 - 4:00 Year 5 Maths Davenies School Tuesday 3 May 2:00 - 4:00 Puzzling Dragon School, Oxford Monday 9 May 8:50 - 10:40 Year 4 Maths Brighton Grammar School Tuesday 10 May 2:00 - 4:00 Year 5 Maths Summer Fields, Oxford 17 May 2016 2:00 - 4:00 Year 4 Maths St George's Junior Weybridge Friday 20 May 2:00 - 4:00 Year 6 Maths St Faith's Cambridge Thursday 26 May 12:30 - 3:30 Year 4 Maths Eden Project, Cornwall Tuesday 14 June 10:00 - 12:00 Year 5 Maths Eden Project, Cornwall Tuesday 14 June 1:00 - 3:00 Year 4 Maths Waverley, Finchampstead Friday 24 June 2:00 - 4:00 Learning tables on a chess / checker board In the website Learn with Math Games there is a very good activity involving a chessboard and counters. At the bottom of the page are links to other activities and the new pages have further links. We always need to try something different because the modern child, who now expects results instantly, will not enjoy the likes of rote learning where there is ‘no meaning’ in the exercise. Jokes for the pupils Which month has 28 days? All of them of course! What’s the easiest way to double your money? Put it in front of a mirror. What has a face and two hands but no arms or legs? A clock What 4 days of the week start with the letter ‘t’? Tuesday, Thursday, today and tomorrow. If two’s company and three’s a crowd, what are four and five? 9 Sharing the money solution Five loaf traveller should receive 7p and the other traveller should receive 1p Final words Hope you have an enjoyable term and do send in any contributions you wish to share with others. I am sure I will meet up with many of you over the next couple of terms at my challenges.
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